


Trickster Animals

by jay_the_timber_wolf



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, M/M, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-01-03 07:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21176012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jay_the_timber_wolf/pseuds/jay_the_timber_wolf
Summary: Akira Kurusu was an orphaned shapeshifter, always on the move and distrustful of everyone. No one loved himAkira Sakura is the adopted son of café owner Sojiro Sakura, second year at Shujin academy, rising to top of his class within days of arriving and befriending the misfits of his school. He's pretty, everyone loves him.Akira and his friends also live a secret life as the Phantom thieves. (I suck at descriptions, just read it'll become clear as time goes on.)





	1. Black kitty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about the adoption process so please forgive my very vague details and such.

Late at night a black cat strolled across the streets in the alley. It wasn't fully black though because it had a white bandit mask on it's face making it's grey eyes stand out. The cat trotted down the street and meowed in alarm and protest when a pair of hands picked it up. The hands belonged to a man wearing a pink shirt under a white jacket. The man held the cat as he walked over to the café nearby, swiftly opening the door with a key and bringing the cat upstairs to the attic.

The space had been turned into a bedroom, the window next to the bed left open. The man closed the window before picking up the padlock laying on the bed and locking it again. He set the cat down before sighing. "Akira come on. We've talked about this, you can't keep going out at night." Where the cat once was there was a boy. Fluffy black hair, maybe seventeen or sixteen years old, with the same grey eyes as the cat. "You let Futaba go out at night! Why can't I?" The boy pouted. "Futaba doesn't have school as soon as the paperwork is processed." The man said crossing his arms.

The boy pouted more, clearly unhappy. Akira Kurusu, soon to be Akira Sakura, had moved to Tokyo when he was taken in by Sojiro Sakura who was quick to adopt the orphaned shapeshifter. Akira had spent most of his orphaned life living on the streets and constantly moving, he had been picked up by a woman one night which was how he ended up at an orphanage where he had met Sojiro. The man felt for the boy so he offer to house him for a few days when the orphanage grew concerned about how Akira acted around the other teenagers. 

Akira only had to spend one night in the Sakura home to win over both Sakuras without even meaning to. Sojiro filed to adopt him the next day. Akira would be starting school after the paperwork was processed and he was officially declared a Sakura, whenever that would be. Sojiro sat down on the bed next to his soon to be adopted son and gave him a sideways hug. "I know it's hard for you to adjust. But you'll be starting school any time now, if you go out at night you wouldn't be able to stay awake during class." He explained softly to Akira. The boy nodded. "I understand, I do. I'm just a bit restless." He mumbled.

Sojiro petted Akira's head, whispering gently. "Just try and sleep alright? I'll see you in the morning okay?" Akira nodded. After collecting the lockpicks that Akira had laying on the desk Sojiro left. Once he was gone Akira transformed again and curled up on the bed. He was going to try to sleep, just like he had promised Sojiro, he doubted he would fall asleep for a while but he was going to try. If there was someone that he didn't want to disappoint it was Sojiro, the man was willing to take him in because he cared for him, Akira didn't want to waste the second chance at a happy life he was give after all.

* * *

Akira was just beginning to wake up when he heard it, a soft chirpy voice that he grew to adore in the admitted short time he has been around it. He didn't bother transforming to a human as he rushed downstairs, fully aware that his claws were scrapping loudly against the wood. Akira immediately flung himself into the waiting arms of Futaba, his soon to be adopted sister. "Futaba! You came out!" He meowed happily, purring loudly in the younger girl's arms. She giggled, pushing her orange hair out of her face as she pet Akira. "Good to see you too bro. Did you sleep as a cat again?" She asked.

"Yeah, I have a hard time falling asleep as a human after all." Akira said. He crawled out of Futaba's arms and returned to his human form so that he could help Sojiro run the cafe. As the day continued regulars came and went, most had become familiar with Akira at this point and were happy to see the boy. As the day was winding down the bell rang again and Akira saw someone enter that he was very happy to see. Sae Niijima, she was actually the one helping the adoption process along and was a regular at Leblanc. "Hi Sae! How's it going?" Akira asked grinning at the silver haired woman.

Sae smiled at him and looked at Sojiro. "I come for coffee, and bring good news with me." The two locked onto her when she said that. She grinned wider as she passed a folder to Sojiro. "It's official, just been processed. I wanted to let you know as soon as possible." She said. Akira was bouncing with joy, he still had a hard time believing his luck, he was officially part of the Sakura family. And honestly, he had never felt so happy.

* * *

"Do I _have_ to go? What if I get judged for being adopted?" Akira whined, not wanting to leave the safety of Leblanc. The café was his home away from home, having moved into the Sakura home after he was officially part of the family, it was the only place apart from his home that he felt safe. "No one is going to know that about you. Now go on, you'll miss your train at this rate." Sojiro said, gently pushing his son out the door. Just outside the door Akira was still pouting. "Don't start giving me those kitten eyes. You'll be okay, you might even make some friends." Sojiro said ruffling his son's hair.

Akira pouted some more before he transformed and dashed off in the direction of the train station. Maybe it'll be fine, he'll get through the school day, help out at Leblanc once he was out of school, play some games with Futaba. Maybe for once Akira could be a normal boy just going to school and making friends. Then again when has the universe ever give Akira a break to be normal? Never, that was the answer.


	2. White doves and golden retrievers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira goes to school

Akira grumbled softly under the awning of a store, cursing his luck. It had begun to rain not long after he got off the train and with his form being a cat he hated the rain. He was hoping that if he waited long enough then the rain would lighten up and he could get to school. Or school would get cancelled due to heavy rain and he didn't have to go. Akira hasn't been to school since he was in kindergarten and he was dreading going. He was used to being looked at like trash, he didn't want to deal with that now though. After a few moments he is joined under the awning by a blonde haired girl with blue eyes. She glances at him after he stares for a little longer than he should have and she flashes him a smile instead of giving him venom. Now looking straight ahead Akira notices the car as it pulls up in front of them. After a bit the window rolls down to reveal the man inside. "Good morning, need a ride to school? You're gonna be late." He was clearly talking to the girl.

"Um, sure. Thank you." She said, walking over to pop open the door. Only then does the man turn his attention to Akira. "What about you? Need a lift?" Normally Akira would have jumped at a chance like this, anything to get out of the rain and going where he needed to go. But every fiber of his being told him that he _shouldn't_ get into that car with that man, and after being on the streets for most of his life Akira has learned to trust his insects. "No, I'm good." He said. The man didn't insist, instead he just rolled up the window and drove away. After a few moments an umbrella appeared right next to the awning being held by a blonde boy with soft brown eyes. "Come on, we have to get to school. If it's still rainin' after I'll leaned you my umbrella, I hardly use it after all." The boy said with a jerk of his head. Akira ducked under the umbrella, thankful for this boy's kindness, and they began to walk. "So you're the new kid right? I haven't seen you around before." The boy asked.

"Yeah, Akira Sakura. Nice to meet you." Akira said with a gentle smile on his face. "Ryuji Sakamoto, and same. Warning you now though this school is crappy as hell. Mostly thanks to that pervert Kamoshida, he was that guy in the car you saw." Ryuji said. "Pervert?" Akira tilted his head. "Rumors are going around that he abuses the volleyball team. But according to my friend Ann, who was the girl you saw, that's not the only thing he does. The rumors say she's dating him but that's so not what's really going on. He's been sexual harrasing her for awhile now, threatening her best friend's place on the team if she doesn't sleep with him. She's managed to avoid it so far but it's getting out of control." The blonde explained. "Aren't all high schools full of rumors?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah but this school certainly loves it's rumors. But I for one know that the abuse rumors are probably true. You're new so there haven't been any rumors about you yet. Sometimes it's funny it see what pops up in the rumor mill." Ryuji said.

At this point they arrive at the school, Akira totally expects for Ryuji to leave him once he's inside but to his surprise the boy offers to take him to the faculty office which is where he needs to go. Naturally the raven was feeling a bit intimidated so he agreed to let Ryuji guild him to the faculty office. Once there Ryuji went off to his class with a wave and a promise to meet up with him after school and give him his umbrella if he needed it. Kawakami gave him the books he would need for his classes before leading him off to the classroom. The bell had rang so everyone was in their seats and chatting, mostly about the rumors going around the school. "All right quiet down." Kawakami said. Everyone turned to her. "As you know we have a new student joining us today. Please introduce yourself." The last part was directed at him. "I'm Akira Sakura, nice to meet you all." Akira said, smiling softly. His classmates immediately started whispering. _"He seems rather shy. wonder where he came from." "He's pretty quiet." "Sakura? I think that's the name of that cafe owner in Yogen-Jaya." "Oh yeah, I didn't know that Sakura-san had a son. Must have been homeschooled up until now." "Either that or he's adopted."_ "Alright settle down. You can sit there, behind Takamaki. Takamaki could you please raise your hand so Sakura-kun knows where you are?" 

Akira saw the hand go up and recognized the blonde girl that he saw get into the car with Kamoshida, Ryuji said her name was Ann. Once Akira sat down Ann turned slightly to look at him and smiled softly. "Glad to see you got her okay." She whispered. "Thanks." He whispered back to her. The rumor mill was still turning about the cafe owner's son, most debating about whether or not he was adopted or if he was Sojiro's biological son. Akira of course knew the answer to that but he wasn't going to tell. The day pasted by and he went by mostly unnoticed, the teachers didn't really bother him but the students were constantly talking about him. Ryuji hadn't been kidding when he said the school loved it's rumor mill. At lunch Akira sat down at an empty table but it didn't stay that way for long but he was quickly joined by Ryuji, Ann, a boy in his class named Yuuki Mishima, and another girl. "We're not letting you sit alone! We might as well make sure you don't get harassed by other people." Ryuji said.

"Thanks." Akira said softly. Rather quickly he began talking with them like they were all friends, he learned the other girl was Shiho Suzui Ann's best friend. He really enjoyed hanging out with the four and ended up exchanging numbers and chat IDs with them so he could keep in contact with them outside school. Akira was glad that when school ended and he looked outside to see that it was no longer raining. When he excited though Ryuji and Ann joined him. "Hey! Wanna come to the park with us and hang out?" Ryuji asked. Akira thought about it for a minute, he had been looking forward to returning to Leblanc and helping out but he also did want to hang out with his new friends. "Um, sure. I'll just need to tell my dad that I'll be late coming home tonight." He said after a bit. Both blondes looked excited that he had said yes. So Akira messaged Sojiro that he would be late coming home and got a stay safe in response. 

Akira went to the park, walking between Ann and Ryuji. Once in the pretty much abandoned park Ryuji shot forward, in an instant becoming a ruffled golden retriever with a limp in it's left hind leg. Ann fluttered forward, now a lovely white dove with sparkling blue eyes, landing on Ryuji's back. "Come on Akira! We're burnin' sunlight!" Ryuji barked, his tail wagging. Akira couldn't believe his luck, on his first day he had found two fellow shape shifters. He chuckled and bounded towards them, his paws hitting the ground as he turned into a cat during his run. He chased Ann playfully as she fluttered in and out of his reach, making sure he never hurt her. He ran away from Ryuji as he chased him around the park with Ann fluttering around his head making sure they didn't hurt themselves. They played until it was getting late, Akira knew that he should start heading home before Sojiro began to worry. "I should go, Dad will worry if I'm out too late." He meowed.

"Okay, we'll walk with you to the train station." Ryuji barked. "Yeah, we don't want you going alone." Ann chirped. So Akira walked to the train station with his new friends, waving them goodbye as he got on his train. He was still slightly out of breath as he entered his home, immediately greeted by Futaba. "Hey bro, have fun? wherever you were?" She asked. "Yeah, I've managed to make some friends at school." He said happily. "Really? That's great! You should introduce me to them sometime." She said. Akira chuckled. "Yeah, that I definitely will do." He said, patting his sister's head before going into the kitchen to help Sojiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought, until next time. Bye!


	3. A caramel crow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another one of Akira's friends pays a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It sure has been a while since I updated this. Sorry, I was taking some time to work on my other P5 story We are the Phantom thieves. Feel free to read it.

"Get out of my room Akechi!"

"Make me Sakura!"

_Crash! _

"You boys better clean up any mess you make!" Sojiro called from the kitchen. He loved Akira to death but him and his friends could be a handful, especially when it comes to Goro Akechi.

The boy was an orphan and shapeshifter just like Akira, but unlike Akira the brunet boy took the shape of a caramel colored crow. He worked with Sae who had unofficially adopted him and lived in the prosecutor's apartment alongside her sister Makoto. But there was one thing about him that got on everyone's nerves.

He just loved causing trouble.

Pulling dog tails at the park, fighting other birds for crumbs when he didn't need to, chasing innocent people around, and just generally being a giant pain in the ass to both Sae and Sojiro when the boy decided he wanted to mess with the family. Akira was his favorite to pick on.

The brunet also enjoyed picking on Ryuji which usually leads to the bottle blonde chasing the boy around the house until they either calmed down or Sojiro threw them outside to chill for a while.

The man turned away from the sink when he heard another crash and saw Akira and Goro tumble down the stairs, tussling with each other. Akira had Goro's tie in his mouth and the other boy was trying to pry the other off him.

"Don't seriously hurt each other, I'm running out of excuses to feed Tae at this rate." Sojiro sighed. There was a muffled 'okay' from Akira as he still had Goro's tie in his mouth and the brunet nodded.

The two tumbled out of the stairwell just as Futaba trotted down. She easily avoided the wrestling boys and entered the kitchen where her father was watching the match.

"Guess Goro payed Akira another late night visit." She said, taking the offered cup of coffee. Sojiro sighed and nodded, looking at his adopted son and his friend, still tussling. "Despite how it looks they have a good friendship." He said. 

The two boys tumbled out of sight as they continued to tussel until-

_Thud_

"Dad!"

Sojiro sighed, setting down his cup and walking in the direction of the shout. Akira was holding his head while Goro was sitting down, pointedly not looking at him. "I thought I told you to not seriously hurt each other?" He gently scolded. Goro turned to look at him.

"He's fine, it was just a little bump on the head." The brunet said.

"A little?! You call this a little?!" Akira removed his hand from his head, the blood on his hand a stark contrast to his pale skin.

Sojiro grabbed his son's head and moved around his ebony curls to get a better look at where the blood was coming from. It appeared to be a shallow wound, probably caused when Akira's head smacked into whatever it was. It already appeared to be clotting.

Sojiro sighed softly and released Akira's head, gently ruffling his hair. "I don't think you'll have to go see Tae. You two should really be more careful." He said.

With that Sojiro walked back to the kitchen. Goro chanced a glance at Akira and saw the ebony boy grinning at him like the cat he was.

"You're gonna get in trouble~" He chirped.

Goro huffed but said nothing, because he knew Akira was right. He could hear Sojiro already talking on the phone with Sae. 

Goro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was always seen as the trouble maker but Akira's other form was a cat, which means he has cat like qualities.

Mischievous, cunning, and most of all cute. His innocent appearance and ability to cry on command got him out of most trouble he might get himself in. Most of it he learned from his time on the streets but some of the other stuff he picked up from either him or Futaba.

But he did hurt Akira so Goro guessed that he did deserve a scolding from Sae when he returned home. He hadn't seen the table before it was too late to stop Akira's head from colliding with the edge of it. 

_'Sae is so going to have my head once I get home.'_ He thought to himself.


	4. Paint splattered fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira meets a certain artist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did someone order a good parent Madarame? No? Well you're still getting him.

Akira liked walking through the park, most days he usually finds an abandoned one so he can shift between forms as he pleases but today he was visiting Inokashira. He liked it the most out of all the public parks because of the lake, he enjoyed watching the ducks there. Today however he learned his trip to the park would be anything but peaceful.

_Clang!_

Akira immediately looked up, trying to locate the source of the noise. It sounded like a metal can banging against a tree but he saw no such thing.

_Clang! Clang clang!_

Akira was pretty sure it was coming from the other side of a tree so he walked over to see who the hell was making the noise.

_Clang clang!_

Akira stared in surprise at what he saw, it wasn't a person making the noise. On the other side of the tree was what appeared to be a fox, absolutely covered in paint and with a paint can stuck on it's head. He watched for a minute as it backed up and hit the can against the tree, probably trying to knock it off.

"You poor thing... Here, let me help." Akira bent down and scooped up the fox, it didn't struggle in his arms as he thought it would as he grabbed the can and prided it off the fox's head. It blinked at him with dark blue eyes as Akira looked over it.

He was having trouble figuring out what it's fur color was under all the paint, looking around he saw the source. Containers sat next to a large canvas, all with paint covering the bottom, sitting next to them were bottles of paint. Curious Akira reached down and picked up one of the bottles to read the label, quickly finding that it was washable.

Akira looked at the canvas and saw multi colored paw prints and smears covering it. "What exactly is this?" He questions the fox. The fox hopped out of his arms and walked over to a container full of paint, looking at him expectedly. "Do you want to join me?" It yipped.That's when Akira realized that this wasn't just a fox, this was a shape shifter.

Akira decided that he might as well, he made sure no one would see before transforming. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." He meowed. The fox smiled as he stepped into the red paint. "I'm Yusuke Kitagawa." He yipped.

"Akira Sakura." Akira meowed, dipping a paw in some blue paint. He trotted across the canvas, leaving blue paw prints across the surface. Yusuke ran across the canvas, leaving his own red prints. "I'm going to Kosei in the fine arts division." Yusuke said.

"So you're an artist? What is this supposed to be?" Akira asked. Yusuke shrugged as he trotted over to the container full of yellow paint. "Not sure, I just wanted to do this for entertainment" He yipped. The fox then proceed to roll in the paint. After covering himself in it Yusuke rolled around on the canvas leaving smears of yellow in his wake.

Akira laughed as he watched Yusuke rub his face around on the canvas. "You're really weird Kitagawa-kun." Akira meowed. Yusuke grinned at him as he straightened up. "The same could be said to you Sakura-kun." He yipped. Akira laughed as he dipped his front paws into the red paint making it look like he had red gloves on, he then dipped his tail into the blue paint.

Akira walked across the canvas, leaving red paw prints and a blue streak behind him. Pretty soon they both kinda got lost in the moment and pretty soon Akira is as covered in paint as Yusuke.

Akira heard a sigh and turned to see his father standing there, pinching the bridge of his nose in that stressed way he did. "Akira... I love you, I really do but did you really have to go get yourself covered in paint?" Sojiro asked. Akira's ears folded back as he looked at the ground but looked up when he heard a chuckle. An older man was standing near Sojiro, looking at Akira and Yusuke with a fond smile on his face.

"No need to worry, all the paint is washable. You can rub him down with a wet washcloth and it'll come right off." To prove his point the man scooped up Yusuke and pulled out a disinfectant wipe and ran it down his back a few times, revealing white fur under the paint. Sojiro picked up Akira and accepted a wipe from the man and began to clean his son up. This was probably business as usual for Yusuke because he looked at Akira after a bit. "What school are you going to Sakura-kun?" He asked.

"Shujin academy, several of my friends go there too. You said you go to Kosei? I think my friend Goro goes there too." 

"Goro Akechi?"

"That's the one, you know him?"

"Not really, he's my senpai but I've never really spoken to him. He seems rather polite."

"Oh boy, trust me if you don't really know him. Goro can be a real asshole at times."

"Then why are you friends with him?"

"I mean, sure he's an asshole but he's also a good friend so I wouldn't have him any other way." 

As the two spoke Sojiro and the older man were mostly quiet before the café owner spoke up. "Sorry about my son, he does stuff like this." He said.

The older man chuckled softly as he rubbed Yusuke down. "It's quite alright, Yusuke actually doesn't really have friends. Most kids find him weird so I'm actually quite glad to see him bonding with one of his peers." He said.

The two were finally clean so Akira climbed out of his father's arms and looked around, spotting some ducks nearby. "Hey Yusuke, wanna go chase some ducks?" He asked, pointing a paw at the group of ducks. Yusuke looked at the older man who chuckled. "It's fine, go have fun." He said. 

Yusuke smiled at the man, rubbing his face against his before climbing out of his lap and running with Akira over to the ducks. Yipping happily with Akira.

"I'm Sojiro Sakura by the way." Sojiro eventually said. 

"Ichiryusai Madarame. So Akira is your son?" Madarame asked. "That's right, what about Yusuke? Is he like your grandson?" Sojiro asked.

Madarame shook his head. "No, I was close friends with his mother and took him in after she died. After her death I was all he had left." He said. Sojiro frowned when he heard that, the situation reminding him of him and Futaba.

"You know, when my friend Wakaba died I took in her daughter Futaba. Adopted her because Wakaba's family didn't want her." The café owner said.

The two men watched as the two boys started wrestling with each other. "It's my fault honestly." Madarame muttered. Sojiro raised an eyebrow. "What? About what happened to Yusuke's mother?" He asked.

Madarame nodded. "She had a history of seizures and was admittedly not in the best of health so I was looking after her. Then she had one in front of me and I froze for maybe a solid two minutes before I managed to call for help. I sometimes think that if I had called sooner than Yusuke would still have his mother." He explained. Guilt was written all over Madarame's face, he was clearly still kicking himself for what happened.

"What about Yusuke's father?" Sojiro asked. Madarame looked at Yusuke, having a good time with Akira. "He died, I think Yusuke was two when the accident happened. Even after he died his mother never lost her passion for painting, something she and Yusuke share." He said. 

Sojiro glanced at the canvas sitting on the ground, the paint on it showing chaos but it was clear that the two were just having fun with it. "Yusuke seems happy." Sojiro said. Madarame smiled and nodded.

"Yes, despite everything he's a happy boy. Our home isn't much, just this run down shack that I own outright. I sell paintings to pay the bills and buy food but they're mostly abstract art and nowhere near as good as Yusuke or his mother's art. But Yusuke has never complained about any of it, I'm just glad he got that scholarship for Kosei because I wouldn't have been able to pay for it." He said.

"I actually run a café named Leblanc down in Yogen-Jaya, we live very close to it too so it's easy to go back and forth. We don't make much but we get by, Akira actually has taken a few part time jobs so he could help pay the bills. I actually didn't ask him to but he insisted on it and if he wants anything he usually pays for it himself. He says it's his way of paying me back for adopting him." Sojiro said. Looking at the time Sojiro stood up.

"I should get going, I mostly came here to get Akira." He said. Madarame nodded and started gathering the containers, paints, and canvas. "We should really be going as well, it was nice to talk to you Sakura-san." The two shook hands and called the boys over, at this point the two had transformed again and exchanged contact information.

The two walked over, chatting and saying goodbye before taking their places by their respective guardians. Madarame looked Akira over before looking at Sojiro. "You know... I wouldn't have known he was adopted unless you told me so. He looks a lot like you." With that Madarame took Yusuke's hand and they walked away.

As Akira climbed into his father's car he chuckled. "I guess I've made a new friend huh?" He said. Sojiro smiled and ruffled his hair. "Looks like it, and a rather interesting one at that." He said. Akira laughed but settled into his seat, he was quite lucky to find another shape shifter like he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought that Yusuke would definitely do this if he could so I had to write it. I threw in some of my good parent Madarame head cannons because I just want the good art boy to be happy. Btw what do you think Futaba's other form would be? I honestly don't know so I'm open to suggestions.


	5. Weasel wake up call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Futaba needs a little help, Akira knows about this stuff. He's asleep? Not for long >:3cc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after much consideration the verdict is in. Futaba's a little weasel, enjoy.

"Akira! Hey, bro, wake up!" 

Akira groaned as he felt tiny claws dig at his blankets and pulled them tighter around himself. "Leave me alone Futaba, let me sleep..." He mumbled into his blankets.

The claws stopped digging and Akira settled into his cocoon of blankets before...

"Ow! Futaba!" Akira bolted up rubbing his ear where she bit him. The little orange weasel glared up at him and he quickly realized why she woke him up.

Akira sighed as his hand went from his ear to his shoulder. "You're stuck aren't you?" He asks. When Futaba nodded Akira sighed again.

Shape shifters usually gain their other form when they're very young which allowed them to get use to it and gain control of their forms by the time they were teens. In Akira's case he gained his form when he was four. But there were times they weren't gained until later in life and when that happens it's very hard for them to learn to control it.

Futaba gained her other form when she was ten, way later than normal for a shapeshifter. As a result she often got stuck in one form or another and needed Akira's help with getting unstuck.

With a sigh Akira sat up and set Futaba in front of him. "Okay then, let's try this again. Close your eyes and let the transformation wash over you." He instructed. 

"That doesn't make any sense!" Futaba squeaked. Akira sighed and rubbed his temples. "Futaba you can't force the transformation to happen. You just have to let it happen, let it wash over you naturally." He said. His sister still gave him a skeptical look.

Akira sighed and tried to remember what his mother told him about the transformation. "You have to feel it in your heart, once you recognize it there you can simply give it a tap and let it wash over you then." He said.

"Akira the only thing you would feel in your heart is beating." The older boy groaned and face palmed. "Futaba I'm trying, I really am. This isn't something you can put logic into, the transformation is purely emotional." He said.

Akira ran his hands through his hair as he took a deep breath. Futaba was a genius, she really was but Akira was the one more wise in the emotion department. "Just... Try it, please Futaba." He mumbled. There was silence as Futaba closed her eyes to follow Akira's advice, pretty soon it wasn't a weasel sitting on Akira's bed but Futaba in all her glory. Akra smirked proudly as Futaba looked herself over. "See? I told you that was all you had to do." He said.

"You're advice was so cryptic I needed to make a cyfir to understand it." The orange haired girl huffed. 

"Breakfast!" Sojiro called up the stairs. 

If there was scramble as a cat and a weasel came bolting down the stairs clearly in a rush there was no one there to say the sight was strange. If later that cat and weasel turned into Sojiro's children then who's to know about that? It's not like anyone outside knew of the two and Sojiro sure as hell wasn't telling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos if you liked and comment your thoughts, both encourage me to write more. (Also yes this is very short but I literally couldn't think of what else to write.)


	6. Brown owl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brown owl swops into Akira's life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay but I'm back, enjoy this that took me a while to get to.

School had just ended and Akira walked over to where Ann was waiting by the stairs. Kamoshida had been in a bad mood and decided to take it out on Akira instead of the volleyball team so there was fresh bruises developing on his face, a black eye the most obvious among them. When Ann saw him she frowned, she knew he was in this mess because of her.

Akira had saw Ann arguing with Kamoshida over the phone and got her to tell him what was happening. When he learned how Kamoshida was pushing himself on his friend Akira confronted him, demanding that he leave Ann alone before he told principal Kobayakawa about it. But Kamoshida was prepared for that, he informed Akira that he knew about his childhood on the streets and said if Akira so much as breathed a word about it to anyone else then his second chance at Shujin would be over.

Unsure what to do Akira went to Kawakami and asked her if she could tell Kobayakawa in his place but to his surprise she told him something very shocking. "He wouldn't do anything Sakura-kun, as long as Kamoshida brings Shujin prestige then he wouldn't let anything touch him. I'm sorry." Kawakami swore she wouldn't let anyone know he told her but his hopes were dropping. 

He asked Ryuji about it and the blonde confirmed what Kawakami told him, as long as Kamoshida ran the volleyball team and earned the school a good rep nothing could touch him. With his spirits starting to drop Sojiro noticed and asked his son what was going on. It took a little convincing but Akira informed him of the trouble Ann was in and how no one would stop it and how Kamoshida had started threatening him.

Akira knew his good reputation was what kept the bullies away from him and kept him in the good graces of teachers and with Kamoshida now threatening it he had no choice in his own eyes but to submit to Kamoshida oppression. Whenever Kamoshida passed him Akira kept his gaze lowered and his center of gravity low. Eventually Kamoshida started beating Akira, keeping the boy quiet by saying no one would believe a street rat like him.

Ann brushed a hand over the bruises and was glad Akira didn't flinch away, trusting her more than Kamoshida. "How bad was it?" She asked softly. Akira pushed his hair away from his eyes. "He wasn't that mad, I managed. Do you have any foundation? I don't want Dad to see me like this." He said.

Ann nodded and pulled out a tube of foundation, she and Akira were pretty close in skin tone so he could easily use her's. They went into the bathroom and Akira looked in the mirror, he groaned softly as he noticed more bruises blossoming. "He really wanted to hit my face for some reason. At least he didn't bust my lip, that would be harder to cover up." He said.

Akira accepted the make up brush and foundation from Ann and began to apply it to his face. Before he got too far a voice came from the doorway. "What are you two doing?"

Akira whipped around, forgetting about his face for a moment to see who was there. Student Council President Makoto Niijima stood there, staring at Akira's bruised face. Panicked Akira blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I fell!" He cried.

Makoto's eyes narrowed at him, even though Akira could lie pretty well she was Sae's little sister and was practically family to Goro and he knew she was skeptical of his claim. "You fell?" She questioned. Akira looked away and nodded. "I did, fell down the stairs earlier. I wanted to cover up the bruises so my family wouldn't see." He said.

It was his story and he was sticking to it until the end. Makoto narrowed her eyes some more. "You fell and somehow ended up with a bruise that looks like a fist?" She questioned. Akira looked down. "I fell, there's nothing else to it." He insisted.

"Sakura-kun you do know that I don't buy that. Tell me the truth." Makoto said. _If I tell the truth my life is over, sorry Makoto, it's just not a opinion._ "I fell that's the truth." Akira said, now looking at Makoto. Akira wished he could tell the truth but the moment he does his life is over. Kamoshida would tell the whole school that he was adopted and that he was a street rat before he was adopted and everyone would start bullying him and he would become just as shut in as Futaba and stay home instead of going to school.

Akira turned away from Makoto and started to apply more foundation, he didn't want Sojiro to see the bruises. He moved past Makoto once the foundation was completely hiding the bruises and walked home with Ann and Ryuji. When he got home Akira went to his room and sighed, what would he do? If only someone could help him and end this suffering. He didn't want to start shutting himself in like Futaba since he had just started to enjoy life since he was adopted but he didn't know what to do.

Just as he was starting to get lost in his thoughts he yelped as there was a taping at his window, looking over he saw Goro in his crow form, with the way he was pecking at the window he seemed desperate. Akira walked over and opened it, Goro flew in right away and swiftly returned to being human before looking at him with a worried look. "Akira please tell me that Makoto was lying to me when she said someone's beating you." He said. Akira blinked, and he couldn't believe this, she told Goro? Why would she do that?

"Why would she say that?" Akira asked. Goro looked at him. "Akira Makoto never says anything if she doesn't mean it, if something is going on just tell me I'll take care of it." He said. Akira looked at his friend and then tried to hold back the tears. "Goro there's nothing you can do in this case I'm sorry." He said. Goro blinked. "What the hell are you talking about I'm the freaking Detective Prince remember?" He asked.

"Trust me there's nothing you can do, if he finds out or even thinks I told anyone than my life is ruined. He knows about my adoption and knows that I used to live on the streets before this and if he thinks I told he'll tell the whole school my life would be ruined Goro." Akira said. Goro looked at him. "Who Akira, who's doing this to you?" He asked. Akira growled. "I already told you I can't tell! As long as the volleyball team keeps winning nothing will be done about him!" He realized too late what he said and put his hands over his mouth, it wouldn't take much for Goro to figure out who he was talking about with that.

"I knew it! It's Kamoshida who's been doing this to you! He's the only man large enough to leave bruises that large on you." 

Akira whipped around and saw a brow owl sitting on his windowsill, it jumped off and turned into Makoto and Akira turned into a mess. "Please don't! Like I said if he finds out I told he'll ruin me! Makoto if I end up getting bullied at school I'll just turn into a shut in just like Futaba, do you want that?" He asked. Makoto frowned and sighed. "We'll figure out what to do Akira I swear, but please if this goes to court you have to testify." She said.

"Do you really think I'd be able to stand in front of a jury with that man staring me down? I'd rather go back to the streets." Akira said. Makoto frowned and looked at him. "We'll figure this out, I swear we'll figure this out." She said. Akira bite his thumb, would they really figure this out? For some reason he doubted that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked leave a kudos or comment your thoughts, they help motivate me to write more.


	7. Fluffy bunny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira meets a bunny on the roof top

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting in a while, things are going to probably speed up now. Also apologies this one is so short.

Akira shut the door to the roof top and sighed, relaxing for the first time in a while at school. Kamoshida has made Shujin hell for him, he was lucky with Makoto and Goro not telling so he doesn't know they know but still it was hard to go every day dealing with the beatings he dealt out. Akira sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands, letting out a sob between his fingers.

"Well that sounds about as well as it looks."

Akira jumped and looked around, he thought he was alone? Akira could only see the garden plots set up around the roof until a light brown bunny hopped out from between the flowers, it didn't take long for him to put together that this bunny was a shapeshifter. "Why do I keep finding shapeshifters? Do they naturally attracted each other?" He asked. The bunny chuckled and hopped onto the ground, turning into someone familiar to Akira making him stand up. "O-Okumura-senpai??!" He asked. Haru Okumura smiled at him but gestured for him to sit down. Akira sighed and sat down on the ground again and put his head in his hands. "Why is everything going wrong?" He groaned. 

"What's going on Sakura-kun? You have fading bruises and developing ones so what happened?" Haru asked. Akira whipped the tears away from his face and as a result smeared the foundation covering some of the fading bruises making him sniff. "It's nothing to concern yourself over Okumura-sempai, I'll be fine." He said. Haru however seemed to not believe his story because she frowned. "I don't think that's true Sakura-san to be completely honest. What's up?" She asked. Akira tucked his head in his knees. "If I tell you I might as well be dead tomorrow." He said. Haru suddenly nodded. "Ah, Kamoshida it is." She said. Akira head shot up. "I didn't say that!" He said.

"No other teacher would do anything to make a student dread school but Kamoshida doesn't count because he doesn't like anyone that's not on the volleyball team." Haru said. Akira put his head in his hands. "Please don't say anything... if he finds out I told he'll make life hell for me and I'll turn into a shut in like my sister." He said. Haru sighed. "That's what I thought, if only I could pay him off so he'd leave you alone." She said. Akira blinked and then remembered. "Right, you're a rich heiress. You act so normal that I forgot about that. But you don't have to do that Okumura-senpai I'll figure something out eventually." He said. Haru put a hand on his shoulder. "No, _we'll_ figure this out. Also call me Haru if you would." She said. Akira blinked but smiled, maybe with another friend under his belt he can turn his life around after it went into the crapper. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos if you liked and comment your thoughts, I love to hear them and they motivate me to write more. Until next time, bye.


	8. A strange cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira meets a strange cat on his way home from school and what it offers makes him think.

Akira sighed as he walked the streets back to Yogen-Jaya where he lived but right now he was focused on getting home and rubbing at the bruises on his face. Akira grumbled to himself as he walked until he was stopped by a cat appearing in his path. "Huh? Hello there, what are you doing here little guy?" He asked leaning down to look at the cat. The cat looked at him as Akira got a good look at him, the animal was mostly black with a white mussel, white paws, and white tipped tail and bright blue eyes. There was also a yellow bandanna tied around it's neck but Akira was wondering if it had a collar under that bandanna. Akira lifted up the cat in his arms and lifted up the bandanna and sure enough there was a collar, it was yellow just like the bandanna and there was a tag on the D-ring so he grabbed it to look at it, it was written in English but Akira knew the language well enough to be able to string it together. "Mor-ga-na. Morgana? Isn't that a name from Greek mythos? A female one I think." He said.

"I'm a boy for your information." The cat said. Akira wasn't surprised about this, because his other form was a cat he was able to understand and speak to cats and other felines, Sojiro got a little weirded out when he saw his son have a full blown conversation with a lion at the zoo for the first time. Akira still goes to the zoo to visit Tony because he wants the lion to not feel lonely all the time. Still Akira looked at Morgana, setting him back down on the ground. "Huh, okay boy it is." He said. Morgana raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh, you're not surprised?" He asked.

"Why should I be? I talk to cats all the time, it weirds my dad out honestly." Akira said. Morgana's ears perked up. "Oh! Well that's wonderful news! I have a offer for you!" He said. Akira raised his eyebrow. "Huh?" He asked. Morgana nodded. "I can tell you're having a rough time if those bruises are anything to go by. I'll help you get out of this situation if you take me home." He said. Akira blinked, rubbing at his bruises like it'd help ease the pain. Now he's been suffering for a while, long enough that his dad has picked up on the abuse, and he wanted it to end. He was sick of it but what could this cat do to help him? "Can you really help me?" He asked. Morgana nodded, puffing out his chest. "I never go back on my word." He said. 

Akira sighed but reached down and picked Morgana back up. "Okay but you better be telling me the truth." He said. Morgana smiled at him. "Of course, why would I lie?" He asked. Akira sighed, beginning to walk. "I don't know, this just seems too good to be true." He said. Morgana purred. "It's not, I'll reveal it tomorrow." He said. Akira sighed, walking with the cat in his arms. He really hoped this was true.

* * *

**Kira: **hey guys can we talk about something?

**Ryu: **sure, wat's up?

**Annie: **yeah go ahead

**Annoying: **Of course Akira, and I see my chat name hasn't been changed yet.

**Futa: **u can change it when u stop being annoying Goro

**Annoying: **Fuck you I get to be as annoying as I want

**Bird brain: **Guys focus

**ART!: **Yes, what is wrong Akira?

**Cutie pie: **Yes please tell us Akira

**Kira: **okay first off there's nothing really wrong

**Kira: **but we might be able to do something about Kamoshida

**Ryu: **if it has something to do that shithead I'm in

**Annoying: **What happened?

**Kira:** okay so I found this cat on the streets, his name is Morgana btw

**Kira:** he talked to me, no surprise since I can normally understand felines

**Kira: **but when I brought him into the house he talked and DAD could hear him

**Kira: **so that tells me this isn't a normal cat and he said there was something he could do to help

**Kira: **but he also asked for some other people to help, he requested at least two people to volunteer

**Ryu: **i'm no questions asked.

**Annie: **me too

**Annoying: **Does it just have to two?

**Kira: **no he said everyone could come if they wanted to

**Bird brain: **So where are we meeting?

**Kira:** outside Shujin.

**Cutie pie:** then we'll meet you there! :)

**Kira:** thanks guys.

**Ryu: **np

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things might start heating up after this, we'll see.


	9. A castle in a strange world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgana shows them something special.

Akira sighed as he walked out of school, a cat in his bag and the weight on his shoulders starting to lift. Morgana promised his method would work and Akira was starting to believe him about it because he spoke about how foolproof his methods were, in theory that is. Morgana admitted that he had yet to actually try it but he told Akira that it should work considering all the things he needed and now had. Akira just hoped Morgana could actually help because he was sick of getting beat up. Akira meet up with Ann in the hallway and then they met Ryuji outside the school and they moved into an alley near the school. Pretty soon everyone else but Goro had arrived at the alley.

"Where's Goro-kun at?" Haru asked. Makoto held her phone in her hand. "He got held up for a bit, he'll be here as soon as he can." She said. Almost on cue there was a flapping sound and Goro appeared in crow form, he landed, turned into a human, and ran over to them. "I'm so sorry guys! There was a case and Sae dragged me along for it. So what's up?" He asked, skidding to a stop right next to Akira. Morgana glanced at the two of them before nodding. "Okay so you're all shapeshifters right?" He asked. Of course everyone nodded because they were, fun how everything turns out. Morgana smiled. "Good, then everyone shift into your animal forms." He said. Akira blinked, not sure what to think but he couldn't stop either Ann or Ryuji from shifting. "You guys are so bitter about Kamoshida huh?" He asked. Ryuji raised an eyebrow and Akira realized that he really had no room to talk, shifting into his cat form.

Once everyone was in their animal forms Morgana leaped off the AC unit he was sitting on. "Let's go, I noticed this earlier. I'm surprised none of you have seen it." He said. The teens followed the cat as he walked over to the school and then sat down. Akira blinked, staring at the school. "I don't see anything." He said.

"I don't either." Goro said.

"Yea, me neither. Are we supposed to be seeing something?" Ryuji asked.

"I agree, I don't see anything here." Makoto said.

"Yes, there's nothing I'm seeing here." Haru said.

"Please tell me we're supposed to be seeing something and we're just not." Ann asked.

Morgana sighed and stood up, slapping the ground with his paws. There was a gasp as a crack opened up in front of them, a vortex of red and black appearing there. Futaba curled around Ryuji's shoulders as the golden retriever backed up. Akira gulped as he stepped forward, staring at this vortex in front of him. "What is this?" He asked, glancing at Morgana. Morgana looked at him. "Hop through and find out." He said with a smile. Akira looked back at the vortex in front of him.

"Akira are you seriously considering this? This seems dangerous." Ryuji said, backing up again. Akira looked at them. "You guys don't want Kamoshida to continue this right? I'm personally sick of getting hit all the time so I'm going to fucking hurl myself through that portal or whatever that is and deal with this. If you want to join me or not go ahead but I'm going." He said. Akira turned to the vortex and bunched up his legs but then felt two feet touch his back, when he looked up he saw that Goro had hopped onto his back. "I'm coming, I'm not letting you go into there with just Morgana." He said. Akira smiled and looked at the vortex, leaping into it with Goro following close behind.

* * *

Akira yelped as he hit the ground, head spinning as he tried to get his bearings. Akira groaned and raised his head, shaking it and looking down at himself, gasping when he saw human arms. "Huh? I'm in human form?" He asked. Akira got up, looking at his clothes, the black overcoat, grey vest, dress pants, brown ankle boots, and red gloves not being what he entered with. "These aren't my clothes..." He said, clutching himself.

"You're not completely human." Goro said. Akira looked behind him and saw a tail, his tail when he was a cat. Akira then felt in his hair and found his ears. Akira then saw his friend and smiled. "You have wings Goro." He said. Goro turned to look behind him and saw the wings coming from his shoulders, spinning around to try and see them more but that just result in Akira laughing from how funny his friend looked. Goro turned to glare at his friend and Akira realized just what he was wearing. Goro was dressed in a black prince like suit with gold highlights, his legs and arms were armored and another detail was he was wearing a mask. It was black and the form mimicked a beak but it wasn't very long.

"Do I have a mask too?" Akira asked. Goro nodded. "It looks kinda like the marking on your face when you're a cat." He said. Akira reached up and found said mask, taking it off and looking at it, sure enough it was white with black around the eyes and mimicked the shape of his face marking as a cat. Akira looked down and saw Morgana hop up, he looked more cartoony now but he was on two legs. "Welcome to the Metaverse you two. Should we try and gather the others?" He asked. Akira nodded and Morgana hopped away, after a bit the others appeared. Each one keeping something of their animal forms, Ryuji kept his dog ears and tail, Ann kept her dove wings, Haru kept her ears and had a fluffy bunny tail, Yusuke kept his fox ears and tail, Futaba had her ears and tail, and Makoto had her owl wings.

"What is this place?" Goro asked. Morgana raised his paws, gesturing towards where the school was. "We're in a place called the Metaverse. The place in particular is called a Palace, this one belongs to Suguru Kamoshida." He said. Akira looked around, seeing a castle where the school was supposed to be. Akira blinked, unsure what to think. "Why is there a castle where the school should be?" He asked. Morgana looked at him. "That's because the castle is the school, that is in Kamoshida's eyes. If you don't believe me look at it properly." He said. Akira blinked but could feel what it was Morgana wanted him to do so he looked at the castle and switched it on, his eyes glowed gold as he saw the world shift and the castle became a transparent image over the school. Akira turned it off, looking at the others. "I guess he's right. Can you guys try it?" He asked. 

Akira watched as one by one all his friends' eyes turned gold and they saw what he saw. Of course Ryuji being more street smart then book smart was struggling to understand. "I still don't really understand." He muttered, tail tucked between his legs. Morgana huffed but sighed, starting to walk. "Walk with me." He said. The teens began to follow the cat as he approached the castle, walking around the outside.

"This place is a different reality then the one you're used to. Only certain people can access it like shapeshifters for an example. I'm surprised none of you guys noticed it before but then again not everyone is meant to see it." Morgana said. Goro's eyes narrowed at Morgana. "Alright I'll bite, how will this place help us deal with Kamoshida?" He asked. Morgana chuckled, leaping up onto the gate, the others following him to stare at the castle.

"This place is built on cognition and desires, that's why this place exists. Kamoshida has distorted desires and we can use that to our advantage. Inside is what is called the Treasure, the source of his distorted desires." Morgana said. Ryuji looked at the highest tower, nose twitching as he sniffed the air, he couldn't clearly smell Kamoshida there was too many other smells surrounding him but he was picking up hints of his scent. "I can't get a clear scent trail on him, there's something else covering his scent. Something rotting and musty." He said.

"What you're smelling are the shadows patrolling around, their the guards around here and wouldn't hesitate to fight if they see you sneaking around. I'll help teach you what scents you should be looking for, the different between shadows and cognitions, even how to pick up the scent of the Treasure. That'll help us cut down the time we take searching the place to find it." Morgana said. Goro raised his hands. "Hey I still don't know how this helps us." He said. Morgana sighed. "We'll you see if we steal the Treasure then we're also stealing his distorted desires, essentially turning him into an honest man." He said.

"And if he turns honest he'l stop hitting me?" Akira asked, looking at the cat. Morgana chuckled. "Not only that, he'll confess his sins! Even if he becomes honest his crimes will still exist and the weight of his crimes will become too much to bare so he'll confess them himself." He said. Everyone looked at the cat who smirked at their surprised faces. Morgana flicked his tail. "I haven't actually done this, but in theory it should work. And I want your help testing it out, you all can be rid of Kamoshida and I make sure this method works. Sound like a deal?" He asked.

"Well I'm in obviously, I don't want to be hurt anymore." Akira said. Goro nodded. "You can second me on that, I'm taking this bastard down." He said. Morgana smiled and looked at the others. "What about the rest of you?" He asked. After a bit they looked around before looking at Morgana.

"Count us in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked leave a kudos for me or comment to show your support, until next time. Bye.


	10. The ways of the Metaverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgana teaching the others how to use the Metaverse to their advantage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter of Christmas Eve, I never imagined I'd be posting this now.

"Okay, what are you smelling?" Morgana asked. Ryuji's nose went up into the air, breathing deeply to take in everything. Standing outside the castle he could smell a few things. "Shadows, Kamoshida, also picking up a hint of cognition." The blonde said. Morgana nodded, looking pleased. "Any trace of the Treasure?" He asked. Ryuji took another deep breath, his eyes opening after a bit. "No, none. Too many other smells covering it up." He said.

"Good, when we get inside you should be able to pick up on it." Morgana said. Ryuji nodded and looked back at the others, Akira having perched himself on top of the fence, trotting along it with Goro flapping by his side. Being in the Metaverse was so different then the real world, they had their animal traits and abilities but now in their human bodies with only small bits of their animal forms peeking through. Akira had cat like balance and jumping, Goro could fly along with a few other bird like traits along with his fellow birds, Ryuji had an amazing sense of smell, and that was just the basics. 

Learning to fly in the Metaverse wasn't too hard once Goro got the hang of it, it was just like flying in his bird form but now his wings were just slapped onto his human body which only threw him off a little bit. Ann and Makoto were having a little more trouble with it.

"Come on just leap off the fence! Open your wings and flap you'd normally do! It's not that hard!" Goro said, flapping over to his two friends. Ann stared at the ground, one leg hanging off the fence but not pushing it. "I feel so heavy! Will my wings even be able to carry me?!" She asked. Morgana broke away from Ryuji who was sniffing around the ground to help her. "They'll hold you, the Metaverse changes your body in a way that mixes your human and animal forms perfectly. Even though you feel heavy your wings will hold you in the air just the same as your bird form, you'll be fine Ann." He said.

Ann grimaced but Akira hopped over then with a smile and a flick of his cat tail. "You'll be okay Ann, I believe in you!" He said. Ann smiled at him and then looked at Goro who was flapping around nearby. Finally Ann sighed and leaped off the fence, flapping her wings making he soar through the air. Akira cheered, bouncing around on the fence as she laughed and flapped around. Makoto took the leap soon after and flew with her fellow birds, the others cheering as the three flapped around.

Morgana nodded proudly, watching as Futaba squeezed herself into tight spaces, Yusuke dashed around the yard, Haru bounced around the yard with him, Akira bounced and hopped on the fence with easy, Ryuji sniffed the ground searching for scents, and the three ones with bird forms flapped around in the air. Morgana crossed his arms, looking at them. "Alright, I think we're ready to start infiltrating the castle." He said.

Everyone looked at him. Akira blinking in surprise. "Really? Do you think we're ready?" He asked. Morgana nodded. "The only thing you haven't done yet is summon a Persona." He said. Everyone blinked. Goro frowned. "Um, what the hell is a Persona?" He asked. Morgana's tail flicked. "It's your most true inner self. A way to fight back in the Metaverse without using weapons. Now before we do actually start the infiltration I want to see you summon your Persona." He said.

Everyone looked at each other before Akira finally looked at Morgana. "How do we do that?" He asked. Morgana tapped his face. "You'll all seen that you're wearing masks correct?" Once everyone nodded the cat continued. "You simply touch it and will your Persona to appear, they should come to you rather easily." He said. The others frowned but finally Goro sighed, reaching up to his mask. "It's worth a shot isn't it? I'll try it first I guess." He said. Everyone nodded and for a minute Goro stood there with his hand up, barely even hovering over the black mask settled on his face.

Finally Goro sighed, stomach in a knot of anxiety, and touched the mask.

** _You wish to call upon me?_ **

Goro flinched at the voice, glancing at the others who didn't seem to hear it. Goro looked forward, determined to see this through. _'Yes, are you my Persona?'_ He asked.

** _That depends, are you willing to do whatever it takes to bring justice to the world?_ **

Goro blinked but understood what it was asking him, the whole reason he was here was to get justice for Akira, Ann, and Ryuji. Kamoshida was ruining lives and the bastard _enjoyed_ it. He enjoyed making Akira dread going to school everyday and making him consider becoming a shut in like his sister. He enjoyed the pain he caused Ryuji by breaking his leg, the same pain the boy still went through everyday through phantom pains and the effects of the injury that still plagued him. He enjoyed making Ann suffer, thinking that what she was doing would save Shiho from her same fate. The man deserved to pay for the crimes he committed but he wouldn't be able to dig up the evidence necessary to arrest him without some serious time.

Akira could have completely shut himself in his room by that time. Or Kamoshida could have take exactly what he wanted from Ann by that time. And Goro was willing to do whatever it took to make sure none of that happened, he didn't want anyone else to suffer the same injustices as him. So was he willing to do whatever it took to bring justice to not only them but the world? The answer was simple.

_'Yes, I am.'_

** _Then I will happily lend you my aid, now call my name and I will come._ **

"**Robin Hood!**"

The mask disappeared in a burst of blue flames, the figure appearing behind Goro at his call. Morgana bounced happily. "There you go! Just like that!" He said. Goro smiled nervously looking at the others who were staring in awe. Finally Ryuji bounced happily, panting excitedly. "I want to try it! I want to try it!" He said. Morgana smiled. "Then go ahead Ryuji, nothing is stopping you." He said. Ryuji nodded and reached for the mask, touching it without hesitation.

** _Ah, I've been waiting for you._ **

** _Though the man has taken your speed from you under my sail you can fly again._ **

** _Together, striking as fast as lightning without hesitation or mercy._ **

** _Are you ready to raise your flag of rebellion?_ **

_'Yes, I'm ready for this.'_

** _Then call my name and summon me to your side._ **

"**Captain Kidd!**"

The skeleton pirate cackled as he appeared, laugher rattling like dry bones as he emerged from the blue flames. Morgana nodded in approval as Ryuji smiled, feeling in control for the first time in so long. Ann's wings flapped, reaching for her own mask. "Okay I'm next!" She said happily. Ann touched the mask with determination, ready for her Persona.

** _My, my, you certainly made me wait quite a while._ **

** _You can't keep this up, he will steal everything from you if you let him._ **

** _Are you ready to take the reins?_ **

_'I am!'_

** _Then call my name and together we'll show this man who is really in charge._ **

"**Carmen!**"

The others were in awe of the powerful presence standing behind Ann, it fitted her very well. Yusuke's hand when up to his mask. "I would like to go next." He said. Of course no one stopped him as his hand touched the mask.

** _Are you ready to show the world there's a difference between beauty and vice?_ **

_'Yes, I am.'_

** _Then call my name and we shall work together._ **

"**Goemon!**"

Makoto's hand went up to her mask.

** _Are you ready to forge ahead and create your own path?_ **

_'Yes'_

** _Then call upon me and we shall ride together._ **

"**Johanna!**"

The others we in awe of the motorcycle that appeared. Ryuji whistled. "Now that is bad ass." He said. Futaba's hands now raised her hands to her mask. "Me next!" She said. 

** _Are you ready to seek the truth you've been looking for?_ **

_'Yes, I am.'_

** _Then call upon me and we shall guide the others to their victory._ **

"**Necronomicon!**"

The UFO appeared and also immediately pulled her in, Akira's tail shot up. "Futaba!" He shouted. The girl giggled, her voice coming out of the Persona. _"I'm okay big bro! Guess I'm more of a support role."_ She said. Akira relaxed, tail waving slightly as Haru's hands raised to her mask.

** _Are you ready to take back control of your life?_ **

_'Yes, I'm ready.'_

** _Then call my name and we shall bast through!_ **

"**Milady!**"

The Persona appeared and almost immediately showed everyone what she was made of, dress parting and showing off the amount of guns she had. Akira breathed, watching as the others admired their Personas. He was the last one. Akira worried that there would be something wrong with his and he wouldn't be able to summon his Persona but he decided it was better to try just like Goro had, so he reached up and touched the mask on his face.

_ **What's the matter?** _

_ **Are you scared?** _

_ **You know the things that could happen if you don't do anything.** _

_ **So let me ask you this, are you willing to throw even yourself away if it means getting justice? ** _

_ **Even if it means crawling out of the depths of hell itself.** _

That was a pretty easy question to answer.

_'Yes, whatever it takes I'll do it.'_

** _Then call upon my name and release your rage! Show them what it means to piss off a cat that's not afraid to use it's claws._ **

"**Arsene!**"

The gentlemen thief appeared with a swirl of flames and bowed to the others, all of them impressed. Morgana smiled as he turned to the castle before them. "Well then, I believe we're ready to start. We'll take this place by surprise!" He said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this, until next time. Bye.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos if you liked, comment your thoughts and opinions, I love to hear them.


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